Why It’s Harder To Hold Your Liquor As You Age

What gives? Same amount of alcohol, same body, right? Well, no — but then, honestly, you knew that, right?

By the time you reach your baby-boom years, even if you are good about exercising, your body composition has probably changed. You are likely to have more fat and less muscle. And that can change how the body absorbs, and gets rid of, alcohol, said Dr. Christine S. Ritchie of the University of California, San Francisco, and a spokeswoman for the American Geriatrics Society.

“Muscle is where we carry most of our water,” Dr. Ritchie said. “So if you have less total body water, the concentration of alcohol is higher.” Some also theorize that because alcohol is fat soluble, having more fat may allow it to remain in the body longer.